DAE rejects RTI queries on safety issues

11 Jan, 2013

An application was filed with the department of atomic energy (DAE) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking the information on the ground water contamination in areas close to a nuclear fuel complex, Hyderabad.

The DAE declined to provide the information stating that the information on safety issues in respect of NFC was of strategic importance. A similar application filed with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was also rejected on the same grounds.

The activists have alleged that despite the orders from the Bombay High Court and the central information commission that public safety issues must be given precedence, all nuclear establishments in the country are unwilling to share the safety details. In 1996, the Bombay high court had opined during a case that information on safety violations cannot be denied to the public. In April last year, CIC had directed the PIO of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to disclose the copies of a safety evaluation report of the Koodankulam reactors.

Activists have alleged that even the RTI queries about safety issues filed by the employees of the department are not being answered.